Her words sent a wave of shock through the crowd.
“Miss…” The maid and guards were dumbfounded.
‘Why would she suddenly want to marry an exile?’
The onlookers found it even harder to accept.
“Damn it, what’s going on?
The Second Miss has never given any of the countless prodigies in the Four Directions Countries the time of day, but now she’s proposing to the son of a convicted traitor?”
SLAP!
“You fucking dare to hit me?
Guess you need a good ass-kicking to learn your place!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!
My bad, I owe you one.
I just wanted to ask—did it hurt?”
“Duh!
How about I slap you and see how you like it?”
“If it hurts, that means this isn’t a dream!
But why would my goddess fall for a guy like that?”
Xiao Yue’Er, however, paid them no mind.
Facing Shuidong Liu, she maintained her charming smile.
“Sir, you…”
“I am the son of a criminal…”
“So what?!” Xiao Yue’Er didn’t care in the slightest.
“Xiaoyu, bring me a brush and paper!
I will petition His Majesty to have Shuidong Liu’s crimes annulled!”
“Yes!”
Xiaoyu quickly produced a brush and paper.
After Xiao Yue’Er finished writing, she stamped the letter with a small seal from her belt.
“Xiao Wu, deliver this to the Royal Palace!”
“I still refuse,” Shuidong Liu stopped her.
He was completely baffled.
‘How could a beautiful, wealthy woman just fall out of the sky for me?
Especially not the greatest Martial Arts prodigy.
What could she possibly see in me?’
‘This has to be some rich girl’s twisted idea of fun, getting her kicks by toying with a convict like me.’
But his words left everyone in the tavern utterly stupefied.
“Holy shit, am I dreaming?
Here, slap me back!” the man from before said in disbelief, practically begging for it.
SLAP!
“Does it hurt?”
“It hurts!
I’m even seeing fucking stars!
This is definitely not a dream.
But the Shui Family was convicted of treason!
The Second Miss is the only one who could get that crime pardoned so easily, and he refused the pardon just to turn down her proposal!”
Xiao Yue’Er’s maid and attendants stared at Shuidong Liu in utter disbelief.
‘He actually refused a golden opportunity to shoot to the top?!’
Xiao Yue’Er, however, was not surprised.
Instead, she smiled gently.
“Sir, do you perhaps doubt Yue’er’s sincerity?”
As she spoke, Xiao Yue’Er shyly removed a Jade Pendant from around her neck.
“This is my Xiao Family’s ancestral Jade Pendant.
Please accept it as a token of our betrothal.
I ask you to consider my offer, sir.
Yue’er awaits your reply!”
Holy shit!
Several people couldn’t help but exclaim.
“That’s the Linglong Pendant that can double one’s cultivation speed!
She just gave it to him like that?”
“More importantly, holding that pendant is equivalent to the Duke’s personal authority!
It can mobilize all of the Xiao Family’s resources, including command over all the troops in the ninety-nine cities of Dongling Mansion!”
“It’s more than that!
Between the Linglong Pendant and the Xiao Family, it’s no exaggeration to say its owner holds half the Yunlong Dynasty!”
“The Shui Family was executed for treason.
Isn’t the Second Miss worried that this kid will use the pendant to start his own rebellion for revenge and drag the Xiao Family down with him?”
Shuidong Liu stared at the Jade Pendant in his palm, still warm from Xiao Yue’Er’s body, and was completely flummoxed.
‘He’d been in the mines for too long; he had no idea people out here played for such high stakes!’
‘So she wants to play for high stakes, does she?’
Shuidong Liu smirked to himself.
‘Alright, I’ll play along.’ “Fine,” he said.
“In that case, I want the entire city paved with red carpets, a dowry train that stretches for three miles, and you will have yourself delivered to my door in an eight-bearer sedan chair!”
He was laughing to himself as he said it.
‘Go on.
Let’s see you keep this act up!’
Who could have known that upon hearing his demands, Xiao Yue’Er’s face would light up with joy?
“No problem!
I will go home at once to inform my parents and eagerly await your formal proposal, sir!”
Xiao Yue’Er gave Shuidong Liu one last, deep look, then shyly led her people away.
Shuidong Liu stared blankly at her retreating figure.
‘Is she for real?’
The surrounding crowd fell utterly silent, all of them staring at Shuidong Liu with complicated expressions.
‘Why him!?’
‘What’s so special about that loser?’
‘Look at him.
I could crush him into dust with one hand!’
When Shuidong Liu snapped out of his daze, he felt a surge of fear.
He was just a regular guy, not even a “weakling with five combat power” by this world’s standards.
How could he possibly play in this league?
‘This is a Mystical World, where killing people at the drop of a hat is an everyday occurrence!’
A cold glint flashed in Shuidong Liu’s eyes as he shot a murderous glare at the Musician.
‘This is all her fault.
And she even tried to kill me just now!’
Miss Le’s face went pale, and she looked as if she might faint.
“It’s over, it’s over…
If he…
if he really becomes the son-in-law of the Duke’s Mansion, he’ll definitely take revenge on my Le Family!”
“No, wait.
He must have some secret I don’t know about, and the Second Miss must have discovered it.”
As Miss Le mulled this over, she whipped her head toward the matchmaker, her anger suddenly flaring.
“You!
This is all your fault!”
“Why did you have to pick this place?
If we had met anywhere else, Shuidong Liu would be the prized son-in-law of my Le Family right now.”
The matchmaker wasn’t about to accept that.
“Miss Le, you were the one who made up rules just to mock Master Shui, and you even wanted to kill him.
What does that have to do with me?”
“You’re the one who’s infamous for taking a new lover every night!
You’re not worthy of Master Shui!”
“You…”
“Hmph!” The matchmaker wasn’t worried at all.
‘If Shuidong Liu really does end up with the Second Miss, then doesn’t that make me…
the successful matchmaker in all this?’
‘If I hadn’t brought him here, would they have ever met?’
‘As for Miss Le…
heh heh…’
「On the road.」
The maid, Xiaoyu, asked in confusion, “Second Miss, are you really going to marry him?
Why?”
The guards and other maids were also very curious.
Xiao Yue’Er smiled.
“I haven’t had a breakthrough in over a year.
According to my master, I would have needed to train for another three to five years to achieve one.
But a single line of poetry from him allowed me to break through instantly!”
“Therefore, he is the one I am fated to be with!”
“What?
Your breakthrough was because of his line of poetry?” Xiaoyu and the others were stunned.
“How can such a thing be possible?
He’s just an ordinary person!”
Xiao Yue’Er chuckled.
“Do you really believe he’s just an ordinary person?
Could an ordinary person do that?”
In that instant, it dawned on all of them.
‘Their Miss is the number one prodigy; her insight is extraordinary.
This sir…
no, their future master, must be peerless in this world!’
As for his status as the son of a traitor, they paid it no mind.
That was something their Miss could resolve with a single word.
“But that Jade Pendant…” Xiaoyu didn’t finish her sentence.
She was the only one present who knew the pendant’s greatest secret: it housed a peerless spirit, which was the true reason it could double one’s cultivation speed!
But no one knew what that spirit was.
Xiao Yue’Er, however, was already urging them on.
“Hurry, let’s go home and tell Mother!”
Meanwhile, Shuidong Liu returned to the mining camp guarded by the Yunlong Dynasty’s Mining Army.
“You’re back.
How’d it go?”
“The Second Miss of Duke Zhen’s Mansion asked me to marry her.
You tell me…
does that sound possible?”
“Huh…?” The guard was taken aback.
“Weren’t you on a blind date with the Musician?
You’re joking, right?
It must be that the Musician took a liking to you…
haha…”
“Shuidong Liu, don’t sigh.
Don’t be sad.
At least you won’t have to die here, and you’ll get a kid without even trying.
You should be secretly celebrating!”
Shuidong Liu’s eyelid twitched.
‘So it’s true.
My predecessor was in the mines for so many years that he was completely out of the loop.’
‘Even the guards knew about the Musician’s sordid reputation!’
As Shuidong Liu walked inside, two people who had been secretly following him said, “He wasn’t lying.
The Second Miss really has taken an interest in him!”
“What?” The guards were floored.
“Him…?
The son of a convicted traitor…
he…”
‘Damn it, that’s the Second Miss!
The goddess who is destined to surpass the two billion people of the Yunlong Dynasty and stand at the pinnacle of Martial Arts!’
“She gave him the Xiao Family’s Linglong Pendant as a betrothal token, and she’s already gone back to the Duke’s Mansion to report to the Duke!”
The guards drew in a collective sharp breath, finally convinced.
“Thank goodness…
I only mocked him a little bit earlier.
He…
he probably didn’t notice, right?
He shouldn’t have!”
The guards tried to reassure themselves.
Shuidong Liu returned to his living quarters, which reeked of stale sweat.
It was a row of wooden huts.
Inside was a large platform bed where dozens of men slept side by side.
Shuidong Liu had just taken a drink of water when a man clad in armor and carrying a long saber strode inside.
Startled, Shuidong Liu scrambled to his feet.