Chapter 167 - 113: Are You Taking It Off or Not?
In the parking lot, the crowd watched as Shan Weizi and Su Ran walked toward them, chatting and laughing. One person spoke up, asking, "Is that the Sect Leader’s future son-in-law?" The words were barely out of his mouth before he was hit with a cold glare from Liu Buqun, which scared him so much he shrank to the very back of the line. Liu Buqun took a step forward, and the disciples did the same, careful to maintain the Sect Leader’s dignified position at the front of the group.
Su Ran looked at the intimidating, black-clad crowd ahead. Led by the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, the ’Martial Heroes’ each clutched a longsword, their eyes fixed on him. A few passersby gave them a wide berth, not daring to provoke this group of ’brave warriors’.
Su Ran: "Let me ask you, just how deep is your grandfather’s misunderstanding about the two of us?"
Shan Weizi: "Very, very deep."
Su Ran: "Sigh, that mouth on your mom... I really can’t take it anymore."
Shan Weizi: "And whose fault is that? You were the one calling her ’Sister Piaopiao’ over and over. You had my mom so delighted she was practically blooming. If you think about it, this is all on you."
Su Ran: "Right, did Sister Piaopiao come? Why don’t I see her?"
Shan Weizi: "My dad’s rheumatism has been acting up, so my mom is at home taking care of him. Come on, my grandfather is still waiting."
The pair walked up to Liu Buqun, and Shan Weizi introduced Su Ran. Liu Buqun sized up the man his granddaughter ’liked’ from close range. ’Hmm... I have to admit, the kid is damn handsome.’ He had exceeded Liu Buqun’s expectations, which naturally earned him a good deal of favor. The saying "good looks are justice" applies to any and all groups.
Su Ran, adopting the etiquette of the Martial World, cupped his fist and called out, "Sect Leader Liu." He then smiled at the group of Spirit Sword Mountain disciples. To his surprise, the disciples’ gazes were full of respect. They had to be respectful; after all, he could very well become the husband of Spirit Sword Mountain’s future leader.
"Sect Leader Liu, hello. I’m sorry to have troubled you by coming here."
Liu Buqun clapped Su Ran on the shoulder, noticing the young man had a rather slight build. He smiled and said, "It’s no trouble at all. Entrusting such a fine piece of wood to my blade shows you have faith in me. If you want to thank someone, thank Weizi. She came here two days early just for that stiff log of yours."
"Grandfather, what are you talking about? I came early to spend a couple more days with you. If I’d known you’d be like this, I wouldn’t have come."
"Hahaha! Su Ran, this is the first time I’ve seen my granddaughter so attentive to a male comrade. You’d better not bully my granddaughter."
"Er... Sect Leader Liu, I’m not a comrade."
Shan Weizi let out a snort of laughter, thinking that Su Ran could be really mischievous sometimes.
However...
"Sect Leader Liu, you’ve got one thing wrong. Me, bully your granddaughter? She’s been practicing Martial Arts with you since she was a kid; she’s an expert. There’s no way I could bully her."
Rumored boyfriend or just a friend, it didn’t matter. Su Ran and Shan Weizi had long since stopped caring and couldn’t be bothered to explain. No one would believe them anyway. As long as they knew they were good friends, that was all that mattered. They didn’t care what anyone else thought.
"Let’s go. We’ll talk more back on the mountain."
Liu Buqun smiled, told everyone to get in the cars, and head back to the mountain.
「Spirit Sword Mountain.」
It was a place of verdant peaks and clear streams, alive with the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers. The scenery was gorgeous, imbued with an otherworldly aura. Brooks babbled down the mountainsides, which were home to countless precious trees and a great many rare wild animals.
It held the beauty of all four seasons in a single year.
Upon returning to Spirit Sword Mountain, Shan Weizi took Su Ran to a quaint, antique-style guest room. She poured a cup of hot water and handed it to him. "You rest for a bit. We’ll have lunch soon, and we can talk about that piece of wood of yours this afternoon."
"Okay. By the way, I wanted to ask, I heard your grandfather say earlier that this entire Spirit Sword Mountain belongs to your Sect?"
"That’s right. Since ancient times, all of this has been the private property of the Spirit Sword Mountain Sect."
"Oh, so you’re saying it’ll all be your property in the future, Shan Weizi? I’m impressed. It’s really true that ’he who gets Shan Weizi gets Spirit Sword Mountain.’"
Shan Weizi smiled. "So, are you very envious of my future husband?"
Su Ran shook his head. "Not in the slightest. You’ve practiced Martial Arts with your grandfather since you were a kid. I’ve never seen your skills, but you must be incredibly strong. If I were really your man, I couldn’t stand being a henpecked husband, threatened with a drawn sword by my wife every day."
Shan Weizi scoffed, "It’s not like I’m interested in you, either." With that, she stepped out of the guest room, closed the door, and headed down the long corridor.
...
After lunch.
Su Ran and Liu Buqun were in the backyard. Standing before the massive log in the biting cold wind, they discussed the design at length. When Liu Buqun learned Su Ran had spent over ten million yuan just to create a centerpiece for his villa, he couldn’t help but admire how this young man ’really knew how to live.’
"ACHOO—" Su Ran rubbed his nose. "Weizi’s grandfather made a design. It just needs to be carved according to this, more or less. Sect Leader Liu, if you’re too busy, then just forget it. ACHOO— It’s really no problem."
"When I agree to do something, I see it through. Don’t be so polite. I’ll carve this wood." As he spoke, Liu Buqun looked at Su Ran shivering from the cold and chuckled. "It’s colder up on the mountain than down below. Look at you, you’re about to catch a cold. Don’t stand here keeping me company. Go back inside where it’s warm."
"I’m fine... ACHOO—"
"Hahaha... Go on, get inside."
"Uh... Alright, then. Thank you for your hard work, Sect Leader Liu."
Su Ran hunched his shoulders against the cold and left the backyard. In the corridor, he heard cheering from the front courtyard. Following the sound, he saw a group of disciples watching Shan Weizi practice her Swordsmanship.
Under a ginkgo tree, amidst the swirling snow.
Her light-cyan figure was as nimble as a young swallow. A jade-like hand drew the cyan sword from its sheath. With a gentle twist of her wrist, the sword flashed like lightning. The glittering blade seemed to merge with her delicate, cyan-clad form. A single snowflake drifted down. With a flick of the sword—CLANG!—she sliced it in two in mid-air. SWISH. The blade returned to its sheath as her graceful figure landed, drawing a storm of applause.
Su Ran clapped along, marveling to himself. ’This woman is unreal!’
Shan Weizi tossed the sword to a disciple and instantly resumed the graceful air of a high-society lady. She glided over to Su Ran. Seeing him let out a few sneezes and constantly wipe his nose with a tissue, she reached out to feel his forehead. "Did you really catch a cold? Mr. Su, you’re in such poor shape... sigh..."
"I was already feeling a little under the weather before I came."
"Stop being stubborn. Come on, let’s go to my room."
"I’m not going to your room."
"You... You’re not coming, is that it? Ah Xing! Mr. Su says our Spirit Sword Mountain’s Swordsmanship is garbage and wants to challenge—mmph mmmph..."
Before she could finish, Su Ran clamped a hand over her mouth. "Are you trying to get me killed?" he whispered. Then he grinned sheepishly at the crowd in the courtyard, who were already rolling up their sleeves for a fight, and said, "A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Everybody sit, sit! No need for anger, ah—"
Shan Weizi bit him. "So, are you coming to my room or not?"
"I’ll go, I’ll go, alright? Sigh..."
Su Ran was speechless. ’Great, another high-maintenance princess to deal with.’
’I’m a goddamn Divine Rich, for crying out loud! The women around me are supposed to be like they are in novels—all sweet, simple, and ready to do whatever I say. When I tell them to bend over, they bend over. When I tell them to lie down, they lie down. Why is my life so different? All I get are these high-maintenance princesses! What a bitter fate.’
Shan Weizi saw Su Ran surrender to her intimidation. ’So this tactic really does work,’ she thought.
"Let’s go. Stop dawdling."
Shan Weizi stretched out her fair hand, grabbed Su Ran’s large, cold hand, and dragged him toward the end of the corridor.
Holding Shan Weizi’s fair hand, he felt his own hand begin to warm up.
At the very end of the long corridor was a bedroom. Shan Weizi pushed the door open, pulled Su Ran inside, and shut the door.
"Uh... what are we going to do now?"
"Take off your clothes."
"Miss Shan, please have some self-respect."
"Heh... Are you taking them off or not? If you don’t, I’ll start screaming again."
"Don’t scream. I’ll take them off."