The Righteous Path Fairy naturally didn’t say anything more. She bit her ruby lips, her beautiful eyes brimming with misty tears. “It’s for your own good. I can’t say.”
If she revealed everything in front of this crowd, the secrets and twists she had planned would lose all their allure. Since she harbored ambitions, she had to hold onto this crucial secret tightly, positioning herself on the moral high ground no matter what.
We want to know! We want to know! The players were itching to tear their hair out, but they’d heard nothing substantial. They silently griped that the game planners were total teases, stringing them along.
Yet when a beauty shed tears, no one—no matter how ruthless—could bear to press her further.
Those suitors whom Ruan Xuezong had beaten down saw their beloved looking so heartbroken and forlorn. Ignoring their own injuries, they scrambled to their feet at once. “Manor Lord Ruan, Wangshu naturally has her reasons. If she doesn’t want to say, why force her?”
Ruan Xuezong couldn’t be bothered with these idiots.
These skirt-chasers were nothing but tools in the end.
Realizing Qu Wangshu was staying tight-lipped, he promptly updated the task. Since the players’ curiosity was piqued, why not use this birthday banquet to uncover the truth himself?
【Triggered plot task “Visit Peacock Villa”】
【Task Description: After the Righteous Path Fairy Qu Wangshu incited her suitors to hurl insults, she demanded to break off the engagement. This has left relations between the two manors on thin ice, teetering on the brink. With Peacock Manor’s lord celebrating his sixtieth birthday, what hidden motives or secrets lie behind their actions? Heroes, seek out the truth!】
【Participant Limit: Unlimited】
Never underestimate the players’ enthusiasm. The moment the task panel updated, everyone’s faces lit up with excitement. They wished Ruan Xuezong would head to the manor right then, so they could turn Peacock Manor upside down and unearth those so-called secrets!
Rumors had been swirling on the forums for a while.
Peacock Manor was the next plot hotspot. They’d followed Ruan Xuezong to Jinling City precisely for this banquet, and now the real show was about to begin. How could they not be thrilled?
They even started discussing it openly in the crowd. “From Jinling City’s docks, it was framing Zongzong, then kidnapping the rich young master’s fool son—one scheme after another. I bet there’s a massive conspiracy behind it all!”
“Could it be the Demonic Sects stirring trouble again?” The players rubbed their fists in eager anticipation, completely oblivious to the Righteous Path Fairy’s face growing stiffer by the second.
Qu Wangshu beat a hasty retreat into her sedan chair, surrounded by her battered suitors, and fled the scene.
This appearance had been part of her plan. She would descend like a devastating beauty, stirring the hearts of Jinling City’s men with her pitiful yet dignified air. But her legendary fiancé had ruined it the instant she appeared. None of her suitors could stand up to him, forcing her to curtain call prematurely.
And then, in front of everyone, he’d told her to spill her hardships. That aggressive pressure wasn’t gentle or subtle at all—it thrust her straight into the eye of the storm.
She couldn’t help wondering just how much he knew. Had there been a slip-up with the Plum-Breaking Four Bandits, or with that fat sheep Wang Sheng? The more she thought, the less composed she felt. Only by picturing her father’s birthday feast in three days could she calm herself somewhat. A faint flush of embarrassment still lingered on her cheeks.
…
Lately, all of Jinling City’s buzz had centered on Peacock Manor atop Yanghe Mountain.
Peacock Manor was a renowned martial family in the southern Rivers and Lakes. With lord Qu Tianwei turning sixty, he wanted to throw a grand celebration and sent out invitations far and wide. Almost every minor celebrity in the jianghu received one.
The martial world gave the old man face, especially considering his age, and came in droves.
Even without Peacock Manor’s prestige, there was the allure of its eldest daughter’s famed beauty—plenty to see there. Of course, plenty more uninvited riffraff showed up without invitations.
The mountain path to Yanghe was jammed solid with gift-bearers and latecomers squeezing through. The manor swarmed with guests, complaints rising on all sides. The stewards were overwhelmed registering gifts. Ruan Xuezong sent a player to handle that and entered first to pay his respects.
Qu Tianwei, for one, was delighted by the chaotic clamor. He clapped his hands and boomed with laughter, “Welcome, everyone, to Peacock Manor! I cast my invitations to the winds, and all the world’s young heroes have come. This old man is honored!”
His voice was powerful and resonant, booming through the air like a world channel announcement for all the players.
The players clapped hands over their ears.
As the manor lord, Qu Tianwei hadn’t set foot in the jianghu for years, but his youthful fame and status endured. Greeting guests personally was a huge show of face. He’d even brought out his children and his properly wedded wife.
His son, Qu Qingyang, was the next in line to inherit. His daughter, Qu Wangshu, was the famed Righteous Path Fairy, standing beside her father with radiant beauty and flawless poise.
The players took one look and spotted the oddity right away!
Qu Tianwei was over sixty and aged, but he remained a sternly handsome old man—clearly a looker in his prime. Yet his wife, Madam Qu, was merely an ordinary woman of middling looks.
The sharp-eyed guests could tell as well.
Though Qu Qingyang was the heir, his status in the manor seemed lower than his sister’s. He came off as a mere steward. Old man Qu stuck by his daughter the whole time, showing her off like a fine garment and barely glancing at his son.
He embodied the ultimate face-connoisseur.
Qu Qingyang was used to it. He explained to the guests, “My little sister is stunningly beautiful and has been doted on since birth. I’m plain-looking, so Father overlooks me sometimes…”
Ruan Xuezong cut in. “You think that’s normal?”
Qu Qingyang shot him a hostile glare. “Manor Lord Ruan, my little sister is a heavenly beauty, deserving of everyone’s adoration. She’d make a fine match for nobility. What’s abnormal about that?”
He already knew about the martial contest between Heart Washing Manor and Peacock Manor. He thought his sister a bit willful, but putting himself in Ruan Xuezong’s shoes, he could understand. At her young age, she was already the jianghu’s top beauty. Ruan Xuezong might be skilled, but with his face ruined by fire, he didn’t match her. Any man with self-awareness would withdraw the engagement.
One beauty and one ugly—if they married, it would end in resentment.
He worried Ruan Xuezong would grow insecure after marriage.
Luckily, the engagement was off now. No resentful couple would emerge.
Ruan Xuezong had no idea about his thought process, but from the look in his eyes, he could guess. His mouth twitched.
Peacock Manor was still prepping the banquet amid the overwhelming crowd and manpower shortage. Qu Qingyang had to hurry off after a few words. The players nearly got lost in the sea of people, but the upside was the manor’s mix of all sorts made gathering intel easy.
The first wave of players disguised themselves as maids and servants among the newly hired help, infiltrating seamlessly.
The second wave were chefs. They slipped into the apprentice crew from Jinling’s Drunken Fragrance Tower with no trouble at all.
The chef players had planned to snoop for info, but Peacock Manor’s massive banquet required hundreds of tables per meal, devouring thousands of livestock. Desperate for hands, the manor put them to work. They sweated over blazing stoves, wielding ladles, and their cooking proficiency shot up two levels in a single night.
These players endured the grind, but they delivered two key pieces of intel to Ruan Xuezong.
First, for several ingots of silver, they’d loosened the tongue of a trusted manor servant. Old man Qu Tianwei had a painting in his study: a portrait of a graceful woman whose face was indistinct. Rumor had it she was his first love from youth. The real Madam Qu spent her days holed up in the study, devoted to Buddhist rites.
Second, the manor’s embroiderers had been locked away lately, confined to some pitch-dark room, secretly stitching something.
Ruan Xuezong listened thoughtfully, then smiled faintly.
These details matched his past life’s memories perfectly. He’d been fooled completely back then. Reborn, he wouldn’t sit idle this time.
Night fell, and torches lit up Yanghe Mountain. Peacock Manor hung red lanterns everywhere. Jade platters of delicacies and fine wines flowed onto the tables like rivers. Guests raised cups, toasting and laughing heartily.
The players stood behind Ruan Xuezong, surveying the hall. It felt like a storm was brewing, heavy with dramatic tension!
Ruan Xuezong’s table had several familiar faces.
Great Hero Hua Bailian and young hero Lan Cangfeng from Famous Sword Villa, plus Shen Jiangling—a table full of rising stars. Shen Jiangling wanted to introduce them, only to find they already knew each other.
“How do you all know each other?” Shen Jiangling asked, astonished. His fan snapped shut; the world really was small.
Lan Cangfeng snorted, full of pride. “There were some clashes and misunderstandings when Pure Shadow Sword went missing. We fought, then made friends.” He wouldn’t admit that he and his senior brother had galloped from the Northern Frontier to Jinling, hearing storytellers prattle about Heart Washing Manor’s exploits the whole way. Just days ago, it was the Plum-Breaking Four Bandits; yesterday, it was countless young heroes overreaching and failing against Ruan Xuezong. His ears had nearly grown calluses.
Lan Cangfeng’s words were prickly, but deep down, his favorability toward Ruan Xuezong had shifted from “cleared misunderstanding” to “genuine admiration.”
Great Hero Hua Bailian was different. Whenever his eyes accidentally met Ruan Xuezong’s, his voice would falter mid-sentence. Shen Jiangling sensed something off.
Ruan Xuezong paid no mind to their thoughts. Blending into the protagonist crew, he was utterly at ease, as if the shadow of his past life’s demon-hunt alliance had vanished.
Once seated, he casually beckoned a player over and said warmly, “I have a favor to ask.”
The player froze for a second—Zongzong had summoned him?—then stepped forward on instinct. A familiar electronic chime from the 007 System rang in his ears, and his pupils dilated.
【Ding! Triggered task “Taste Test Dishes”】
【Task Rarity: Rare】
【Task Brief: Ruan Xuezong is but flesh and blood. He fears something amiss in Peacock Manor’s banquet fare and needs a hero to sample it. Does this hero have the courage for such self-sacrifice?】
【Rewards: 3000 EXP, some loose silver, +10% Peacock Manor Exploration, +10 Ruan Xuezong Favorability】
【Slots: One】
“Holy shit???” The lucky player was still dazed as the task popped up. The other players jolted awake, trembling with envy, nearly lunging forward yelling, “Aaaah, why not me?! I’m closer to Zongzong!”
Under the players’ bloodshot glares, the lucky one mentally echoed the curse. He thumped his chest. “Gu-Guaranteed completion!”
