“Xiao Yue! Give me an answer!”
The sorely beaten youth cried out in indignation, his roughed countenance blazing with hurt and anger. His hands reached out to grasp the edge of a nearby table, his body screaming in pain as he gradually regained his balance.
The ardent youth’s body radiated with a faint pride belonging that to a powerful clan, although his actual status was not as satisfactory.
“My Yue’er doesn’t deserve someone as unworthy as you,” a languished voice belonging to a male rang from within the private room.
“Young Master Tang, you should return to your residence, and not shame yourself any further. Can the Tang Clan afford to antagonize my Fang Clan, just for the temporary livelihood and pleasures of a Third Young Master?”
For a brief moment, the entire interior of the Eight Immortals Pavilion fell into a pure silence, the occupants too busy searching for their fallen jaws from the outburst.
The atmosphere seemed to have frozen into a permanent chill, rattling against the eardrums of everyone present.
Platter!
Then, the first pair of chopsticks clattered onto a half-finished bowl of chicken soup, the owner forgetting their former presence in his hands.
Soon after, the second pair of chopsticks embraced the wooden floor of the ground level of the pavilion, encored by everyone else except for a young girl sitting at the farthest table from the entrance.
At the same time, the frozen state of the Eight Immortals Pavilion appeared to disappear as though it had never been present, and Tang Shiqi soon recovered in suit.
The youth extended a shaking finger towards the ajar doors of the private room, his eyes bulging in their sockets.
“Who… who is your Yue’er?” the youth hoarsely whispered.
“Fang Man, you only met Xiao Yue from a few weeks ago, whilst I grew up with her since she was a four-year-old little girl. How dare… how dare you claim her as your… your own!?”
“Why, because Yue’er and I possess quite the affinity, ah,” the youth named Fang Min replied with a gloating laugh.
“It’s a pity, Third Young Master Tang! I do apologize for ruining your engagement’s prospects, but I refuse to exchange my Yue’er for a piece of paper hidden under your bed, stained with whatever evil you commit each night.”
Caw?
The little raven, who had been observing the show with a tinge of boredom, abruptly reared its head back in surprise.
After a few moments of befuddled contemplation, the little creature realized with horror that it couldn’t pay any more attention to the stash of gingko nuts hidden within the leather bag.
The pair of crimson eyes bulged in shock, replaced by a hint of uncertainty.
The stinky lass’ irises… did they just flash with interest?
What kind of young girl in this age would have interest in such a topic!?
If the little raven heard what An Fei was murmuring under her breath, it would have probably fainted from disbelief.
At some point in time, the young girl had finished her bowl of dandan noodles, and was lounging around simply for entertainment.
“Fight it out! If that lad Tang could burst with some protagonist mystery, then that would be the perfect drama, ah,” the young girl cheered in her heart, only wishing that she had brought out her newly brewed rice wine to enjoy whilst spectating the romantic troubles of the Tang Clan’s Third Young Master.
After all, romantic dramas were the best entertainment of all!
Sprinkle in a tinge of fantasy and love triangles, and a world-breaking blockbuster was to wave its greetings to the queue of fame.
At the same moment, the tension within the Tang Clan’s Third Young Master broke through the carefully constructed dam and soared into the heavens.
“You have more affinity with Xiao Yue than me?” Tang Shiqi scoffed.
“Why don’t you say it then, Fang Man. See if our Tang Clan won’t do anything about your flippant and arrogant actions!”
A brief pause reared its head within the private room, along with several shuffles of delicate fabric on wood.
The occupants of the pavilion didn’t dare retrieve their chopsticks, their ears stretched in anticipation and excitement.
“Hm… Yue’er, do you mind?”
The youth named Fang Man slowly spoke towards his partner with an affectionate voice, causing the Tang Third Young Master to burn scarlet with anger.
The shuffling of clothes continued for a breath, before the delicate voice of a female could be heard.
“Of course, Fang ge-ge. Our Xiao Clan is ready, Fang ge-ge, Yue’er is here only for you!”
“Hmph, you hear that, Tang Third Young Master?”
Fang Man barked in laughter, his sonorous voice ringing with righteousness and glorification. The youth of the Fang Clan slapped his table in his sneer, leering at the flushed countenance of Tang Shiqi.
“I originally didn’t mean to do this, but Yue’er has also finished her preparations regarding your Tang Clan. Thus, listen well, oh great Young Master of Tang! Yue’er and I are a pair of mandarin ducks that soar through the heavens, never to separate! And besides, compared to your flimsy fraud of an engagement arrangement, our passionate night stands true before the impartial heavens!”
The Eight Immortals Pavilion broke into an uproar, fervent discussions rampaging throughout the tables as the occupants ignored their food to gossip.
They cared not about their own busy schedules, instead choosing to languish and discuss the eternal misery and humiliation of the Tang Clan’s Third Young Master Tang Shiqi.
“Look at that misfortune, lah. Behind the rest of his siblings in cultivation, and he wasn’t of a legitimate familial line in the first place. His lifeline of an arranged marriage now broken as well, how will that youth live on, ah?”
“What a pitiful child,” another consoled with mockery.
“The Tang Clan can’t shoulder this humiliation, and they’ll take it out on him for sure. Look! That kid can’t even stand in his anger, will he leap forth and martyr himself in the dying embers of glory?”
“Hush! I think the kid’s going to say something brave and courageous.”
As expected, Tang Shiqi summoned unprecedented strength from an unknown reserve to steady his footing from the concussive blows of Fang Man’s words.
The youth of the Tang Clan clenched his fingers into tight fists, glaring directly at the occupants of the private room before him.
“Fine! I’m not powerful like my brothers, nor do I have the talent in cultivation.” The youth scowled with a bleeding heart.
“However, Xiao Yue, Fang Man, I’m not someone who only knows how to climb a higher tree for support. One day, I’ll repay all of my humiliation and defeat, hundredfold!”
Yip!
The small fox snuggled out of the leather bag, licking and pawing at the young girl’s right hand.
Looking at the pair of hazel eyes brimming with absolute contentedness and salvation as though it had secured a life raft from the jaws of hell, An Fei released a low chuckle before presenting another strip of char siu to the small fox.
In return, the young girl managed to obtain another experience of stroking the heavenly, silken white fur of a seven-tailed fox, causing her eyes to close in satisfaction.
Caw.
As the little raven croaked in jealousy and injured pride, the occupants of the ajar private room walked towards the center of the ground floor of the Eight Immortals Pavilion.
The customers released an appreciative sigh at the unveiled protagonists of the local romantic drama, all thoughts regarding their cooled food thrown to the back of their minds.
The youth named Fang Min aptly possessed the hearts of the young women, for he could only be considered as a prince charming from a heavenly nation.
Dressed in immaculate robes befitting that of a wealthy clan surpassing the Bone Spirit Town, with long black hair that shamed many females regarding the glossy and refined appearance.
Combined with the eternally handsome countenance, it was no wonder the young girl Xiao Yue was smitten as first sight.
The young girl besides Fang Man deserved the title of a rare beauty, for her appearance appeared to be inconsistent with the development of the Bone Spirit Town.
Dressed in a silken gown of pink and white with embroidered phoenixes and cranes, and possessing a countenance that could cause fish to float in the water after a single glance and rain to fall with a smile.
“Look, that Xiao Yue of the Xiao Clan is truly a beauty, ah.”
“It’s a pity that she was even engaged to that Tang Shiqi in the first place, he isn’t deserving of her in the slightest for sure!”
“The Tang Clan… won’t be able to do anything about it, ah?”
The customers waggled their fingers in disapproval towards the Third Young master of the Tang Clan, causing the youth to flush a deeper shade of scarlet in humiliation and repressed fury.
Fang Man was about to raise his chin and deliver a finishing slap to the pitiful loser’s psyche, when his eyebrows shot up in interest.
“Fang ge-ge?”
“Oho?”
And much to the surprise of the diners at the Eight Immortals Pavilion and the young lady besides him, the youth of the Fang Clan did not strike a fallen opponent than what was necessary, instead turning towards an inconsequential corner table that supported a young girl whose appearance could barely be called above average with indulgent benevolence.
“That young miss over there,” Fang Man called with a smooth and engaging voice.
“May I have the spirit pet in your hands? Of course, Fang Man won’t belittle you for it.”
