Chapter 180: Utterly Against Propriety

Of course, there had been beautiful women who “liked” Monkey.

The word “liked” was merely somewhat forced in those cases. Most of them had learned who Monkey really was and approached him with other objectives. Their feelings were anything but pure.

It was not that Monkey disliked beautiful women either. Everyone liked looking at something beautiful. It pleased the eye.

In their previous life, with Monkey’s ability and wealth, would he ever have lacked women?

He had met and dealt with plenty of beautiful ones.

It was simply that a man like Monkey could not tolerate sand in his eyes. A woman being beautiful was never enough to make him fall for her.

After seeing enough of the world, he had naturally grown disgusted with beauties who took the initiative to throw themselves into his arms.

To a certain extent, Monkey was a very pure man.

He was not like Master Dao, who could play along with whatever scene appeared before him at any time.

It was not that Monkey had never seen the dazzling pleasures of the world, nor that he had never tasted them. But his personality had ultimately returned to simplicity.

There had been women he liked.

The kind he liked merely tended to leave Master Dao scratching his head.

Monkey liked simple, honest women.

Character came first.

More specifically, he leaned toward women from the countryside: hardworking women who could pick up a hoe and work the fields, come home and cook, understand hardship, and know how difficult life could be.

Whether they were beautiful did not matter much.

So long as they were not ugly enough to frighten people like Shang Shuqing, that was fine.

In Monkey’s own words, people in their line of work could meet disaster at any time, perhaps even lose everything. Better to find a woman who, even in that situation, would still settle down and live a real life with you. That mattered more than anything else.

Fine.

Niu Youdao admitted there was some sense in it.

He simply felt the bastard’s standards were far too high and not very realistic.

To Niu Youdao, a woman like that was rarer than a peerless beauty.

It was not that such women did not exist.

But many things were relative.

Among all the ascetics since ancient times, how many had been women?

A woman’s nurturing instincts made her seek security. What woman did not pursue a better life?

A woman like that might remain simple and hardworking if she married an equally simple man. But if she met someone like Monkey, who lacked for nothing, she would naturally change as well and begin pursuing higher forms of spiritual enjoyment.

Unless, perhaps, the two of them withdrew completely from the world.

If everyone told a beautiful woman she was ugly, she too might return to ordinary life and keep her feet on the ground.

If everyone flattered and pursued an ugly woman, she might likewise float away on self-importance.

But explaining all this to Monkey was useless.

Monkey had his own convictions.

He had always wanted to find a proper woman like his mother, someone hardworking, frugal, capable of managing a household, and willing to endure hardship.

So when Niu Youdao learned that a pampered beauty like Hao Qingqing had actually confessed to Monkey, how could he not find it amusing?

Black Peony and the others came inside and found Niu Youdao sitting in a chair, grinning to himself.

Black Peony could not help asking, “Master Dao, is this Yuan Gang your friend?”

“Brother.”

Niu Youdao gave only that word.

In another room, Wei Duo looked nervously at Yuan Gang.

Yuan Gang had been opening drawers and checking cabinets throughout the room. When he turned and saw Wei Duo’s expression, he stopped.

He understood what the man was worried about.

Wei Duo feared Master Dao would refuse to accept him and drive him away.

It had to be said: Master Dao really was somewhat ruthless toward Wei Duo.

But Yuan Gang understood him.

Master Dao was a clearheaded, rational man, so much so that at times he appeared cold-blooded and heartless.

He wanted no further entanglement with the Shangqing Sect.

By making the decision himself to keep Wei Duo, Yuan Gang had, in a sense, left Master Dao with a new complication.

If anyone else had asked, Master Dao would never have agreed.

Yuan Gang reassured him.

“Relax. Master Dao won’t drive you away again.”

Wei Duo nodded excitedly.

“Th-thank you!”

“I forgot to tell you. The Shangqing Sect has already established itself in Beizhou. Do you want to return?”

Wei Duo shook his head.

“Wh-wherever the Sect Leader is, th-that’s where the Shangqing Sect is. I f-follow the Sect Leader. I’m n-not leaving!”

A trace of approval flashed through Yuan Gang’s eyes.

He genuinely admired Wei Duo.

There were not many people Yuan Gang respected.

Wei Duo counted as one.

“Good. But there’s something I need to remind you about. You treating him as Sect Leader is one thing. Whether he is willing to accept that is another. You can keep ‘Sect Leader’ in your heart. There is no need to keep saying it aloud. He dislikes the title.”

“From now on, call him Master Dao.”

“G-good.”

Wei Duo nodded hard.

“Good!”

“Nothing else.”

Yuan Gang patted his shoulder, signaling that he could relax.

Wei Duo let out a long breath, as though a great burden had finally fallen from him...

In another room, after hearing Chai Fei’s account, Lady Pei’s face turned black.

She glared at Hao Qingqing through clenched teeth.

“Young Mistress, this is outrageous! You are still an unmarried maiden. How can you say such shameless things to a man without the slightest sense of propriety?”

Hao Qingqing pouted.

“What is wrong with me disliking someone or liking someone? Why do dislike and affection have to be hidden? When I meet someone I hate, I curse him. When I meet someone I like, I say so. How does that make me shameless?”

“I simply find him pleasing to the eye. I simply like him. What is wrong with that?”

Lady Pei shouted angrily, “You have only just met him once! You do not even know who he is, yet you dare say you like him. What kind of rash, reckless affection is that?”

“What does liking someone have to do with how many times you have met?”

Hao Qingqing shot back.

“I see the men the family recommends to me all the time, and I still cannot stand any of them.”

“This Yuan Gang was pleasing to me after one glance. I find it strange too. What am I supposed to do about it?”

“Besides, I have seen plenty of filthy-minded people in the palace. This Yuan Gang should not be a bad man. He has a man’s bearing all over him, a body full of upright qi. You cannot fake that. He is not a bad person!”

Lady Pei said, “You know absolutely nothing about him, yet you dare say such things. What if he already has a wife?”

Hao Qingqing turned her head aside.

“So what? If I like him, I’ll take him. Why should I wrong myself? I will never compromise on something as important as whom I spend my life with!”

Chai Fei and Liu Fenghai’s faces turned black as pot bottoms.

If a man said something like this, perhaps they could accept it.

But for a woman to say it openly was utterly against propriety.

They had seen shameless people before.

They had never seen anyone shameless in quite this way.

“You...”

Lady Pei pointed at her, so angry that she laughed.

“From the sound of you, are you truly thinking of going into his room?”

Hao Qingqing clasped both hands behind her back and snorted.

“I will have to think about that. But why does everyone assume I would be the one losing out? Who knows who would be sleeping with whom?”

To the other three, the words struck like thunder rolling overhead.

They completely overturned the moral order the three of them took for granted.

All three were stunned stupid.

This young mistress truly dared say anything.

Lady Pei’s face turned livid.

She covered her face with both hands.

She genuinely could not listen anymore and was nearly driven mad.

When she lowered her hands, she suddenly struck.

One tap froze Hao Qingqing in place, unable to move.

Lady Pei turned to Chai Fei and Liu Fenghai.

“If this continues, something will happen sooner or later, and none of us can bear that responsibility. We’re leaving. Contact the family immediately and have them send people to escort her home!”

“Yes!”

Chai Fei and Liu Fenghai both nodded.

Liu Fenghai left at once.

Hao Qingqing’s bright eyes darted rapidly from side to side.

Now she seemed genuinely anxious...

Atop a snow-covered mountain, more than two hundred people drifted down onto the summit.

All wore the same uniform.

Every one of them was a disciple of the Liuxian Sect.

At their head stood an elderly man missing one arm.

It was Liuxian Sect Elder Wu Shaohuan.

Two other elders accompanied him on either side.

To deal with Niu Youdao, the Liuxian Sect had dispatched three elders and more than two hundred disciples in one stroke.

The force could hardly be called small.

Gao Sucong and Cui Yuan, formerly of Star-Plucking City, were among them as well.

The shop there had nothing more to do with either man.

Both had been recalled to the Liuxian Sect.

The consequences awaiting them after their return to the sect could easily be imagined.

It was not merely that Niu Youdao had escaped.

The Liuxian Sect’s enormous losses were plain for everyone to see.

Nearly one million gold coins!

How long would it take to earn that back?

The loss had been devastating.

The sect had also discovered who looted the shop.

People in Star-Plucking City had seen Black Peony and the others carrying piles of goods out of the Liuxian Sect shop that night.

Others had seen them enter the shops of the Ling Sect and several other factions.

Obviously, they had sold the stolen goods there.

Given conditions in Star-Plucking City, it did not take much imagination to know the goods had been sold for a fraction of their value.

The Liuxian Sect had nearly wept blood from the pain of it.

But when the sect questioned the Ling Sect and the other shops, those people denied the whole thing.

Someone had dumped goods cheaply into their laps and let them make a killing.

Why would they spit the profit back out so easily?

With the Liuxian Sect’s strength, it could do nothing to the Ling Sect.

Recovering the goods was impossible.

Using Duyun Mountain as a shield had not helped either.

The moment Gao Sucong and Cui Yuan were recalled to the Liuxian Sect, they suffered severe punishment.

Gao Sucong had predicted it correctly.

He, a dignified Golden Core Realm cultivator, was directly demoted to guarding the Liuxian Sect’s front gate.

For the next ten years, he would receive only one-tenth of the cultivation resources normally allotted to him.

Cui Yuan had not been the principal person responsible, so his situation was slightly better.

He received essentially the same punishment as Gao Sucong, but because his status within the sect had been far lower to begin with, the same penalty was comparatively lighter for him.

The two had been sent out again this time because they had both crossed hands with Niu Youdao and could offer at least some experience.

Cui Yuan had even seen Niu Youdao in person, which made identification easier.

It also gave the two men a chance to redeem themselves through merit.

Gao Sucong truly regarded it as such an opportunity.

Cui Yuan did not want the opportunity at all.

There were things that could never be brought into the light.

Niu Youdao had spared him.

Now he had come to kill Niu Youdao.

What if Niu Youdao exposed what had happened?

But Cui Yuan had no choice.

He could not refuse to come.

It was not up to him.

Throughout the journey, anxiety had gnawed at him.

If he wanted to kill Niu Youdao and silence him, he would first need the chance.

The crucial problem was that Cui Yuan was no match for Niu Youdao at all.

He did not possess the ability to silence him.

So he had begun thinking about how to warn Niu Youdao instead.

Yet he had no way to contact him.

The moment the Song family’s message arrived, the road ahead was long.

The Liuxian Sect group barely stopped at all and rushed here at full speed, every face showing the dust and exhaustion of the journey.

They did not all descend to the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

One elder remained behind to hold the position.

Wu Shaohuan took a little more than ten people and flew down from the mountain.

The moment they reached the canyon, the group hurried straight to the Liuxian Sect shop.

“Master?”

Shopkeeper Xiao Tie saw the group enter and quickly went forward to salute Wu Shaohuan.

Wu Shaohuan was his master.

Xiao Tie had not expected that so soon after he sent word back to the sect, the people dispatched by the sect would already arrive.

Wu Shaohuan lifted his single hand slightly and asked, “Have you found the target?”

Xiao Tie cupped his hands.

“Yes. Niu Youdao has already checked into Rainbow Inn. But the situation has changed...”

He explained how Niu Youdao had somehow become entangled with Chu Anlou.

The group that had hurried all this way was left stunned.

Cui Yuan’s eyes flickered.

Secret delight rose in his heart.

Sometimes, once a road had gone crooked, it became very difficult to turn back.

Wu Shaohuan remained frozen for a moment, then asked heavily, “How did he connect himself to Chu Anlou? What exactly is going on?”

“This disciple truly does not understand either. There is no way to investigate a matter like this.”

Xiao Tie answered respectfully.

[End of Chapter 180]