“Does my little uncle want to hear me call you ‘darling’, is that it?”
The man froze for a moment, and taking advantage of the opening, Ruan Weibai snatched the golden silk secret letter from his hands, eagerly lying prone on the couch to read it.
Ye Tang massaged his temples.
This person simply never realized just how dangerous he was!
The more enchanting he was, the more dangerous.
In such a fragile physical state, he still dared to provoke him?
“What the heck? They’re actually auctioning Yuanguang?!”
Having finished the letter, Ruan Weibai was so angry he nearly jumped off the couch! Unfortunately, with his lower half paralyzed, he couldn’t move at all.
What kind of person was this, having the sheer audacity to publicly auction his first wife, Yuanguang?!
Like petting a cat, Ye Tang stroked Ruan Weibai’s head: “Actually, during the centuries Ah-Ruan was gone, people frequently lied about obtaining your divine artifacts and held public auctions, with the highest bidder winning.”
“Except, without exception, they were all counterfeits.”
Ruan Weibai raised the golden silk secret letter. Though his body was wrecked, his mind remained sharp: “This came directly from little Qinghe. Since you were willing to show it to me, it must be genuine nine times out of ten, right?”
“Whether it is genuine or not, only you, the true master, would know.” Taking back the secret letter, Ye Tang said with a smile, “The auction ceremony for Yuanguang will be held at the Broken Sword Manor in Xuanwu on the seventh day of next month. If you do not want to miss it, behave yourself and recuperate properly over the next half month.”
“Alright, I am not going anywhere during this time, I’ll stay right here on this couch until I can walk!”
Everything for my wives!
After saying this, Ruan Weibai thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Um, can we bring my good apprentice along with us?”
He couldn’t just leave that silly kid behind in Lanquique Heaven. To be honest, the two of them had more enemies in Lanquique Heaven than there were stars in the sky. Right now, everyone was simply exercising restraint because of Ye Tang’s protection, which was why they didn’t come to make trouble. Once both Ye Tang and he were gone.
An image flashed through his mind of the little fellow left all alone in Lanquique Heaven, surrounded and attacked by a crowd until his bones were completely dismantled!
Ruan Weibai shook his head.
No way, I have to take this opportunity to get him out of here!
Unmoved, Ye Tang asked, “We are not going out for a stroll, why bring him along?”
Ruan Weibai choked for a second, pulling out what he considered an airtight excuse: “If it’s just the two of us, what if the Heavenly Lord harbors some improper intentions toward me.”
Ye Tang glanced down from top to bottom at the beauty on the couch: “I certainly do. What about it?”
“No, can’t you follow the script for once? At a time like this, you’re supposed to reply, ‘There is no such possibility, if you are worried I will bring Bai Ruogu along.’ That’s how it’s supposed to go, bro!”
“What kind of response is ‘I certainly do’!!”
Ye Tang: “The truth.”
Ahhhhh. This conversation is impossible to continue!
Turning his head, he rubbed his own face; it was burning hot.
The fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, in the mortal realm.
News that Broken Sword Manor was about to auction the divine artifact Yuanguang had already caused a massive uproar.
Although people claimed every single year that they had struck gold and acquired the divine artifact of the Sword Demon Bai Ye, in reality, they were merely riding the coattails of his fame to attract attention. Over the past two hundred and fifty years, none of the three divine artifacts had ever appeared.
Even so, the moment even a shred of news regarding these three divine artifacts surfaced, true or false, it would cause the Three Realms to flock to it like ducks!
After all, those were divine artifacts. Back then, the great demon lord Ruan Weibai had relied on the three divine artifacts to stir up the winds and waves, shaking the entire Three Realms. Moreover, over the past century, no other divine artifacts had appeared, so who wouldn’t covet them?
Who wouldn’t want to acquire these three legendary divine artifacts?!
Even if one couldn’t obtain the artifact, simply witnessing the brilliance of a divine artifact firsthand was something to boast about and raise one’s standing in the future!
Furthermore, based on past experience, even if the final auction item wasn’t a divine artifact, it would still be an extraordinary or celestial-grade weapon. There were plenty of cultivators willing to settle for second best, since not every practitioner had the opportunity to forge their own natal weapon, and even celestial-grade artifacts were completely unattainable luxuries.
Before the official auction had even begun, the surroundings of Broken Sword Manor were already bustling with clamor.
Four well-dressed young men walked through the noisy marketplace.
The black-robed man walking at the very front seemed interested in everything, circling every single stall in the market and turning back from time to time to chat with the white-robed man walking beside him. The white-robed man accompanied him the entire way with an exceptionally gentle and patient expression, while following behind them were two junior attendants who chattered endlessly about something.
Although they had changed into celestial robes and used magic to conceal their true appearances, the worldly yet otherworldly temperament they projected still caused surrounding passersby to cast frequent glances, sighing in admiration that they must be young masters from some prominent clan out on an excursion!
Especially the two leading figures; their postures and manners were as graceful as descending immortals!
It was just a pity that when viewed from the front, their faces appeared completely ordinary, which felt somewhat regrettable.
Yet for some reason, whenever that black-robed young master smiled, it felt as though someone were plucking at the listener’s heartstrings, aching, itching, and spinning into a tangle, making it impossible not to keep staring at him.
Such a captivating young master, why did he have to possess such an utterly plain face?
It didn’t make sense!
Could it be that the heavens were occasionally fair after all?
While opening a window, did it have to kick down a door?
“So, Master, your divine artifact is actually just a huge gimmick? Used for fishing?” Opening his clear, wide eyes with an expression of pure curiosity, Bai Ruogu closely followed behind Ruan Weibai.
Hearing Bai Ruogu’s words, Xie Xun, who was walking behind Ye Tang, continued chattering away: “Ah right, if you want to sell a weapon, the best publicity method is to claim you found your master’s divine artifact. This trick has been used for over a hundred years, and it works every single time!”
[System: Indeed, traffic is the king of all things. That rule applies everywhere, no matter what.]
Bai Ruogu looked at the surrounding people. Along their entire journey, nearly everyone had been discussing the legendary past of the three divine artifacts: “These people all seem to be drawn here by Master’s divine artifact. Isn’t the auction ceremony still three days away? Why are there already so many people?”
With an expression that said “you’re asking the right person”, Xie Xun explained, “Kid, let me tell you, the moment anyone tacks the name Sword Demon Bai Ye onto a weapon sale, it’s guaranteed to be packed with people and insanely popular! Whether it’s real or fake doesn’t even matter that much anymore. Besides, the organizer of this auction is Broken Sword Manor, which is completely different from the past. If you don’t come early, how could you ever grab a good spot!”
Bai Ruogu didn’t know much about the affairs of the Xuanwu Kingdom, so he asked with some confusion, “Does Broken Sword Manor have something that makes it stand out?”
Glancing at Ruan Weibai walking ahead, Xie Xun smiled and said, “You’ll have to ask your master about that.”
Ruan Weibai slowed his pace slightly. He had originally intended to ask Ye Tang to buy him something to eat and was about to tug on his sleeve, but upon hearing Xie Xun, he gave his habitual smile, turned around, and said leisurely, “Broken Sword Manor used to be my sword-forging workshop back in Xuanwu. Come to think of it, Yuanguang was forged and born right here in Broken Sword Manor.”
Then, glancing sideways at Ye Tang beside him, the corners of his eyes curved upward as he nudged Ye Tang’s chest with his elbow: “Considered a betrothal gift your imperial father gave me back then?”
Ye Tang did not reply, his gaze indifferent, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Bai Ruogu was astonished: “What, Master, your Yuanguang was forged right here?! Th-th-then does that mean Master is actually the owner of Broken Sword Manor?”
“I can only say I used to be,” Ruan Weibai said indifferently. “After I left Xuanwu, it stopped belonging to me. Twenty-odd. no, centuries have passed, so it’s bound to be completely different from what it was back then.”
Before Bai Ruogu could respond, the motormouth Xie Xun chimed in: “Now you get it, kid. Everyone in the Three Realms knows the Sword Demon Bai Ye has returned from the dead and even become the consort of our Heavenly Lord, and Broken Sword Manor is the exact place where he personally forged his divine artifacts in the past. The moment news of auctioning the divine artifact Yuanguang leaks out right now, I bet the surrounding hundred miles will be packed so tightly not even water can leak through!”
[System: Releasing this news right now really does stack the buffs high. Host, is it truly your divine artifact Yuanguang?]
Ruan Weibai rubbed his nose: I don’t know. I completely lack the courage to channel even that tiny shred of spiritual power right now. However, if I get to lay eyes on my wife in person, I’ll definitely recognize it, after all, it’s my wife!
“Let’s find a place to settle down first,” Ye Tang took Ruan Weibai’s hand. “It is almost noon. Is Ah-Ruan feeling a bit hungry?”
Hearing this, Ruan Weibai smiled: “It is tough for you to calculate meal times for my sustenance when you practice innuendo-free fasting every day. Why don’t you skip the fasting for this period and let me introduce you to some mortal delicacies?”
Looking at Ruan Weibai, Ye Tang bantered, “Is this smile of yours another plot to torture me?”
Blinking, Ruan Weibai replied, “What are you saying, Husband? I naturally cherish and love you far too much. Wait for me here a moment, I am going to buy some good things for you to try later!”
Both Bai Ruogu and Xie Xun, trailing behind the pair, stood frozen in place.
No, why were they showing affection again? Weren’t they bitter enemies who fought to the death in the past? Wasn’t the difference before and after marriage a bit too drastic?
And with this oblivious display of public affection, whose honeymoon trip actually brought along two followers just to feed them dog food?
Woof woof woof?
They had already been stuffed to the brim with dog food all the way here… burp!
With unnervingly synchronized movements, Bai Ruogu and Xie Xun tracked Ruan Weibai as he scampered joyfully over to an elderly woman’s street stall, chatting away with a brilliant smile that completely won the old woman over. She packed something into an oil-paper bag and handed it to him.
Then, as if remembering something, Ruan Weibai scurried eagerly back to Ye Tang, held out his hand with utter righteousness, and demanded, “Husband, give me money!”
Ye Tang casually pulled out a glittering golden leaf and handed it to him.
“That is way too much, you’ll frighten the grandmother.”
At these words, Ye Tang shifted his gaze to Xie Xun. Xie Xun shrank his neck under the stare, dug into his pockets while muttering under his breath: “I finally figured out why I was brought along. Here, take it, take it, these are all silver coins I exchanged for spiritual stones. The exchange rate went up again recently, so, Demon. Heavenly Lord, please spend sparingly!”
Taking the loose silver coins, Ruan Weibai laughed, “I won’t take your silver for nothing. Once I make it, I’ll bring you all along to try it. Absolute perfection! You can’t taste this in Lanquique Heaven!”
With that, Ruan Weibai trotted back to pay.
Watching Ruan Weibai’s retreating figure, Xie Xun clicked his tongue and muttered, “Why do I have a bad premonition?”
Beside him, Bai Ruogu wept tears of emotion: “Master is super nice even to a grandma he doesn’t even know. My master is truly the number one best person in the entire world! I love my master so much!”
Xie Xun was left speechless.
No, why were the two of you completely bewitched by that demon?
Even though the demon had put on such an utterly plain face just now, why were people still staring at him as if their eyeballs were about to pop out and stick to him?!
[System: Host, ever since we arrived here, have you sensed a familiar presence? And it’s getting closer and closer.]
Ruan Weibai: I sure have, I’ve felt my wife getting closer and closer this whole time! What, you sensed it too?!
[System: I can’t quite put my finger on it, but this presence feels very similar to me, almost as if, there’s another system.]
Ruan Weibai: ?