The waiter’s gaze shifted between the two of them. He thought to himself that these two young heroes were just at the right age for marriage and likely wanted to participate, so they were gathering information on their opponents in advance.
Thus, the waiter pulled a small booklet from his robes and said, “Young masters, we have recorded all the heroes who have come by recently and declared their intention to participate in the martial arts marriage competition in this booklet.”
“However, there are simply too many people coming, so the booklet only contains those heroes who are already famous and truly possess some level of skill.”
He smiled and placed the booklet on the table but did not leave immediately. His meaning was very clear.
Yun Huizhou was not interested in this at all; he turned his head to look out the window.
Lian Li, however, fished out fifteen wen from his robes, placed them on the table, and pushed them toward the waiter.
The waiter immediately beamed with joy and said, “The booklet also describes the weapons and martial arts styles these heroes specialize in. If there is anything you are unclear about, feel free to call for me at any time.”
As he spoke, he tucked the fifteen wen into his waist pouch.
Lian Li flipped open the booklet to look, while asking, “Do you know what the temperaments of these heroes are like?”
Saying this, he gave a soft sigh. “Although it is a martial arts marriage competition, if a great beauty like Miss Su were to marry someone who only has martial arts skills but lacks superior character, it would be a true pity.”
The waiter gave a “hehe” laugh. “Guest, you’ve asked the right person. I know the general temperament of about seventy percent of the people in this booklet, if not all of them.”
Lian Li fished out another five wen from his robes, placed them on the table, and said, “Then tell me in detail.”
As the waiter’s voice began to recount the details, Lian Li listened intently. He even took out a charcoal pen to make notes in the booklet, appearing extremely invested in the matter.
When Yun Huizhou turned back, he saw that Lian Li wasn’t even eating anymore, but was instead scribbling away with his pen.
Looking at the booklet, he felt the food no longer tasted good, and the waiter’s voice became incredibly grating to his ears.
This kid, could he really be thinking about marriage? He’s taking notes so seriously; he really wants to participate in the martial arts marriage competition.
When they had discussed this topic back in Jianggao City, this kid had told both of them not to be in a hurry about such things. Why had he suddenly become so anxious himself?
It wasn’t that he looked down on him, but the boy had only been practicing martial arts for a year.
Furthermore, his natural talent wasn’t particularly great. That he could reach his current level was thirty percent due to the supplementary cultivation medicine provided by their Junior Uncle, and thirty percent due to Yun Huizhou training him every day and smoothing out his internal energy.
The remaining forty percent was down to the boy’s own diligence.
Yun Huizhou felt disgruntled. He didn’t know why he was disgruntled, but he was simply very unhappy.
However, seeing how serious Lian Li looked, it wasn’t right to interrupt him. So, he just sat in his seat, seething in silence.
About fifteen minutes later, the waiter finished telling everything he knew. Lian Li tucked the booklet into his robes and waved him away.
Yun Huizhou watched as he tucked it away, treating it like a precious treasure.
After the waiter left, Lian Li realized the food had been served for quite a while, yet Yun Huizhou hadn’t even started.
“Why aren’t you eating? You didn’t have to wait for me,” Lian Li said.
Yun Huizhou gave a huff and didn’t reply. He picked up his chopsticks and began to grab food and put it in his own bowl.
Lian Li also lowered his head and began to eat. Halfway through the meal, he suddenly realized that during today’s meal, Yun Huizhou hadn’t put any meat or vegetables into his bowl. No wonder something felt off.
Initially, Yun Huizhou didn’t have the habit of serving Lian Li food. It was only after they started practicing martial arts that he noticed Lian Li’s appetite was a bit too small, and he liked to finish everything in his bowl before taking more.
This resulted in him not taking any more food once he felt full.
To make him eat more, Yun Huizhou would basically keep an eye on his bowl; whenever the food decreased, he would add a couple of helpings.
Lian Li didn’t have a habit of wasting food. If the food was still in the serving dishes, he could let Yun Huizhou eat it all, but once it was in his bowl, he felt awkward about putting it back, so he could only work hard to eat it.
Fortunately, although Yun Huizhou served him food, he wouldn’t make him eat too much at once. He usually estimated the amount, so he wouldn’t make him uncomfortably full.
Yun Huizhou treated him like he was raising an extremely delicate flower, deeply afraid of accidentally letting him die, yet also afraid of overdoing it and ruining him.
Lian Li looked up at Yun Huizhou sitting across from him. He noticed that while the man didn’t have any particular expression and was just eating seriously, he felt as though the man’s face should be dark with anger.
So, he asked Yun Huizhou, “What’s wrong with you? Why did your mood suddenly turn sour?”
Yun Huizhou: “It didn’t. I’m in a great mood.”
Lian Li: “Like I’d believe you.”
Seeing that Lian Li wanted to press further, Yun Huizhou looked up, grabbed a large portion of the vegetable Lian Li hated most, and put it into Lian Li’s bowl. “Eat properly. After we finish, we’re going straight to the Su Mansion.”
If this kid really wanted to get married, it was better to enter the Su Mansion early and find a chance to meet and spend time with Miss Su.
Otherwise, if their personalities didn’t match, they would only end up as a resentful couple even if he did marry her.
Besides, whether this kid could even win the martial arts marriage competition was another matter entirely.
In any case, he absolutely would not help this kid cheat.
Once he lost and tasted the bitterness of love, he would realize it was still too early to think about these things. Practicing martial arts well was the most important task.
The two of them finished the meal, each with their own thoughts. After Lian Li paid the bill and asked for the location of the Su Mansion, they led their horses toward the Su Mansion.
Along the way, both of them felt many gazes falling upon them. The ones on Lian Li were fine; people mostly just glanced and looked away.
However, the gazes falling on Yun Huizhou made Lian Li feel that many were filled with hostility.
Leading his horse, he turned to look at the stern-faced Yun Huizhou walking beside him.
It had to be said that Yun Huizhou was truly handsome.
His features were well-defined and deep, yet without any exotic flair. When he was serious, he was just like his blade—his entire being radiated a sharp, piercing aura.
Eighty percent of these hostile gazes likely came from those who wanted to participate in the martial arts marriage competition.
After all, whether it was his looks or his martial arts, Yun Huizhou made them feel a great sense of threat.
If he were also there to participate in the competition, the probability of him winning was simply too high.
As for Lian Li, his looks could certainly threaten those people, but his martial arts were simply too poor.
So, basically, after realizing his martial arts were mediocre, they judged him to be no threat and lost interest in looking at him.
Lian Li moved closer to Yun Huizhou and nudged his arm.
This earned him a confused look from Yun Huizhou.
“Remember those people who are showing hostility,” Lian Li said.
Those who could feel hostile toward Yun Huizhou were likely the highly favored “seed” contestants. Among them, there might be someone determined to win at all costs.
Now that a Yun Huizhou had appeared, their chances of losing were too high. There might be narrow-minded people who would hold a grudge or try to eliminate the threat in advance by using underhanded methods.
“Why should I remember them?” Yun Huizhou said. “I’m not planning to participate. If they want to be hostile, let them. What does it have to do with me?”
