Lian Li looked up and straightened the other man’s clothes. After silently complaining in his heart about his Senior Brother’s lack of male modesty, he spoke up. “This quarter’s Beauty Ranking goes on sale today. We should go wait at the bookstore entrance early, lest we fail to get a copy.”
Hearing him mention this, Yun Huizhou finally remembered what that young girl from the Martial Arts Alliance had said.
Lian Li was on the Beauty Ranking.
Yun Huizhou reached out and hooked a finger under Lian Li’s chin, smiling as he said, “Not just Great Hero Lian anymore, but Great Beauty Lian as well.”
Lian Li swatted his hand away. “It’s all because of that rotten idea of yours.”
Yun Huizhou tilted his head and laughed. “If Junior Uncle finds out, he might be so happy that he’ll reduce your chores by a few days.”
“Stop being poor and glib. Hurry up and get dressed properly, then help me go buy the Beauty Ranking booklet,” Lian Li said.
Yun Huizhou moved quickly. Once the Beauty Ranking booklet was brought back, Lian Li immediately flipped it open.
Starting from the first place, he flipped all the way to the hundredth before he finally saw his own name.
The small portrait printed there was lifelike. Because Lian Li had dressed as a woman, he was the only person in the entire Beauty Ranking booklet to have two portraits.
One showed him in women’s clothing, looking bright and moving. The other showed him in the pale yellow new clothes he wore to Su Fu’s wedding, looking vibrant and full of spirit.
Each style of beauty had its own merits, but regardless of which look it was, both were worthy of being on this Beauty Ranking.
Lian Li marveled at the skill of the engravers and painters. Although they couldn’t fully capture his grace on paper, they had replicated about ninety percent of it.
Just as he was about to share his joy with Yun Huizhou, he spotted several lines of small text written next to the portrait.
It read: Lian Li, the youngest disciple of the South Island Lord of Drunken Dream Island.
Fond of wearing women’s clothing; disguised himself as Miss Su in Fengyi City to observe the martial arts marriage competition.
Suspected of favoring men; maintains an intimate relationship with his fellow Senior Brother.
Lian Li’s breath hitched in anger as he slammed the booklet onto the ground. “What kind of nonsense is this!”
Yun Huizhou bent down to pick up the booklet. He had only flipped through it cursorily before; since he hadn’t seen Lian Li’s name immediately, he hadn’t bothered to look further.
Seeing Lian Li angry now, he assumed the boy was dissatisfied with his rank. Curious, he searched carefully and found Lian Li’s name at the very last spot.
He was just about to comfort Lian Li, telling him that this list considered reputation in addition to appearance and that the statistics were quite complex. Since Lian Li had only just entered the Jianghu, it was normal for his rank to be low.
Once he took Lian Li around to wander more and built up his reputation, the ranking would naturally rise. There was no rush.
However, when he clearly saw the description, the water he was drinking instantly sprayed out of his mouth.
He slammed the booklet onto the table and said, “They’ve made up a bunch of lies and still ranked you last? This is too much!”
“Exactly! Right!” Lian Li was so fuming that he didn’t notice anything wrong with Yun Huizhou’s words; he just nodded frantically.
Saying he favored men and was intimate with his Senior Brother—wasn’t this just spreading rumors about him and Yun Huizhou!
They shared the purest bond of brotherhood. To desensitize Yun Huizhou to feminine beauty, Lian Li had used every trick in the book back on Drunken Dream Island, yet Yun Huizhou hadn’t wavered in the slightest.
This proved just how pure their brotherhood was!
Besides, they hugged each other at the drop of a hat, and lying in the same bed was a common occurrence.
If there were something improper between them, could they possibly do these things so openly and honestly?
The person who made this ranking had written a bunch of nonsense without understanding the situation, and they hadn’t even given him a higher rank. It was simply too much.
If the person responsible for that ranking were standing before them, they would likely be forced by the two of them to move the name up.
The two of them, irritated by the booklet so early in the morning, tossed it into their luggage and headed to Yucheng’s largest tavern to eat breakfast and vent their frustration.
They didn’t go into a private room, choosing instead to sit in the main hall.
They had just finished ordering and hadn’t even started eating when a shadow suddenly fell beside them. Lian Li glanced sideways to see a young noble dressed in luxurious clothing.
A suave smile hung on the man’s face, but his eyes were fixed directly on Lian Li.
“Are you perhaps Young Master Lian?”
Lian Li glanced at Yun Huizhou, then back at the noble, before pointing at himself and asking incredulously, “You’re looking for me?”
Huh? Someone was actually looking for him instead of Yun Huizhou? How rare.
The noble seemed amused by his reaction, his smile deepening. He folded his fan and said to Lian Li, “This humble one is surnamed Wang, a native of Linjiu City.”
“Oh,” Lian Li replied. He harbored a hint of wariness toward this person who had suddenly approached him. He asked, “What do you want with me?”
Young Master Wang didn’t mind Lian Li’s coldness. He pulled out a booklet, placed it on the table, and said, “I have long admired Young Master Lian’s great name. I came specifically wishing to make your acquaintance.”
Lian Li didn’t believe a word of it. His most famous deeds were capturing Ma Tie and the recent cross-dressing incident.
Small-time crooks like Ma Tie were a dime a dozen in the Jianghu; every so often, some righteous young hero or heroine would punish such people.
At most, his method of catching Ma Tie was a bit unique, which had generated a tiny bit of discussion for a while, but after a few days, everyone usually forgot.
Currently, his greatest claim to fame was the incident where he posed as Su Fu, which had involved several First-class Masters stirring up trouble.
This man coming over and claiming to have “long admired his name” was eighty percent likely here because Lian Li was on the Beauty Ranking.
Lian Li’s gaze shifted to the booklet Young Master Wang had produced, and he saw that it was indeed the Beauty Ranking.
It was only because Yun Huizhou had been leading him through backroads and small towns that they hadn’t paid much attention to this matter.
Otherwise, Lian Li would have known long ago that he was famous now. In terms of pure notoriety, he wasn’t inferior to some Second-class experts.
Seeing that Lian Li hadn’t responded for a long time, Young Master Wang took another step forward. “I truly wish to befriend Young Master Lian. I believe we would have much to talk about. Why not accompany me to Linjiu City so we can have a heart-to-heart talk?”
He leaned closer to Lian Li, placing his hand on the table. As he drew nearer, his hand gradually crept toward Lian Li’s.
Thud—!
A loud crash was followed by a miserable scream as Young Master Wang was sent flying.
Yun Huizhou slowly retracted his leg and called out, “Waiter, pack up all the breakfast we just ordered.”
Lian Li looked at the flying Young Master Wang, then at Yun Huizhou. He immediately became alert, standing by Yun Huizhou’s side with his hand moving toward the whip at his waist. He whispered, “Is there something wrong with him?”
Yun Huizhou didn’t seem to want to talk. That kick looked heavy, but he hadn’t actually used any internal energy; it wouldn’t cause any lasting injury.
Young Master Wang clutched his stomach and stood up.
The other patrons in the hall all turned their eyes toward them.
Some people quickly stood up and moved away from their seats, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire if a fight broke out.
Others sat calmly in their places, seemingly unconcerned about being affected.
