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Chapter 80: Manor of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess

She was a splendid koi fish in the Bombax River, the sole member of the clan who had cultivated magical power. Unfortunately, she lacked the strength to assume human form. Unexpectedly, during a day of joyous play with her younger sister, they stumbled upon a plant bearing two amber vermillion grapes. She gave her little sister the larger one, granting her five hundred years of cultivation. Consuming the smaller one herself, she gained three hundred years of cultivation.

With this, both sisters had acquired enough magical power to take on human forms.

Immediately after consuming the Amber Vermilion Grapes, an evil turtle demon appeared out of nowhere, eager to devour them.

In the midst of their escape, the two sisters got separated and lost each other.

Liu Xiaoyu had instructed her younger sister to meet at South Gate City, so she decided to head there as soon as possible to await her younger sister\'s arrival.

As she approached the Li Family Estate, located just outside South Gate City, she encountered a very handsome young man. Despite appearing like a noble, he was gentle and friendly.

He came up to her and asked her for her name and origin.

She promptly responded that she was Liu Xiaoyu, the daughter of a fisherman by the river. She had lost sight of her sister and was heading to South Gate City to search for her.

The young man identified himself as Xia An, the Lord of the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess, and kindly invited her to stay at his home. He assured her that he could leverage the marquisate\'s power to help locate her sister swiftly. Xia An reasoned that it would be like finding a needle in the ocean if Liu Xiaoyu were to search on her own.

Liu Xiaoyu was a demon who had lived many years, but she had never been out of the Bombax River. Lacking experience in the human world, she was easily convinced by Lord Xia to stay in the manor of the marquess.

Being in this foreign land with a considerate and gentle young man, Liu Xiaoyu, who was as naive as a young woman, swiftly found herself falling in love. She thought of herself as one of those female demons in legendary stories, meeting their ideal husband as soon as they stepped foot into the realm of humans.

Liu Xiaoyu envisioned a future where she would be married to this man, living a happy and blissful life once she\'d found her younger sister.

After a few days passed, Liu Xiaoyu began to sense that something was wrong. The Lord of the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess, Xia An, would depart early and return late daily, his busy schedule leaving only occasional moments for visits.

Regarding any news about her sister, there was none.

Yet, she didn\'t doubt Xia An\'s promise. Her concern was for her naive and inexperienced little sister.

If her sister wasn\'t as lucky as herself to encounter someone as good as Xia An, what would happen?

Unable to endure any longer, she left her room to see Xia An. She wanted to tell him how much she hoped to leave the house and search for her sister. Perhaps, through the connection between sisters, she would instantly locate her missing sister.

The servants at the manor had become familiar with her during these recent days. She walked unhindered to the periphery of Xia An\'s study.

Upon noticing that the candlelight was still burning brightly inside, she concluded that he was still in the study.

As Liu Xiaoyu approached, she heard voices from inside the study.

In the study...

Lord Xia was caressing a long and ancient sandalwood yaoqin[1] on the table.

He said in amazement, "The ancient sandalwood demon could totally be used to make a legendary enchanted tool, but it has been used to make this useless qin. This is such a waste of resources."

"To the Lord of the House of the Mountain-Subjugating Marquess, this might seem like a waste, but it is absolutely an invaluable treasure to individuals who love qin. The Marquess has also spent a great amount of effort to acquire this qin. He instructed that you must not let his heartfelt efforts go to waste," the residence\'s steward replied with a flattering smile.

"This sandalwood kite-shaped guqin is just a tool to get close to Xue Lingxue. The effort it requires to win over that pride of the South Melody Conservatory is not just a small amount." Xia An laughed. "My father has already given me a tedious mission."

"The marquess received secret news from the palace that Shen Qingyan from the South Melody Conservatory might marry the crown prince. If Xue Lingxue, a friend of Shen Qingyan, could marry into our marquessate in the future, your future prospects will be promising," the steward said. He remarked fawningly, "Lord Xia, your methods of charming girls are truly unmatched and are perfect for this task."

"Don\'t make it sound like I am a gigolo living off a woman," Xia An retorted as he cast a glance at the steward. "If it weren\'t for Xue Lingxue being an extraordinary beauty, I wouldn\'t have agreed."

The steward nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, yes."

The inner disciples of the South Melody Conservatory normally wouldn\'t get into a relationship at this time. Even if there were people they could be romantically involved with, they would only announce their relationship publicly after the head disciple of this generation had been decided and the competition had ended. Otherwise, it would have a significant impact on their popularity, a lesson learned through many painful experiences in the past.

However, despite not announcing it, many had already made private arrangements. After all, being romantically involved with another person privately wouldn\'t be known to others.

Xia An\'s determination to pursue Xue Lingxue remained unaffected.

Despite being a seemingly unattainable goddess for countless people, she wasn\'t entirely out of reach for Lord Xia, who was an aristocrat with imperial kin. Anything was possible for him.

Moreover, according to Xia An\'s past experiences, the more of a goddess someone was, the fewer people would dare to approach her, so it might be even easier to win her over. As long as you could get close to her and be part of her life, charming her might not be as difficult as imagined.

"By the way, have you talked to my father about the business?" Xia An asked. "He is focused on cultivating to extend his life, but the resources are all provided by the manor. If the Eastern Whale Division really cuts off doing business with us, he might not be able to cultivate so leisurely."

"The marquess obviously knows about it. However, he is currently at a critical breakthrough point in his cultivation and temporarily has no time to deal with these worldly matters... Lord Xia, you\'ll have to handle it for now," the steward said helplessly.

"Haih. That is the limit of my father\'s talent. Even after using up so many resources, he is still unable to advance to the peak of the sixth realm. If it weren\'t for the human trafficking business, the entire manor might have been dragged down by him. Why doesn\'t he know when to give up?" Xia An commented with a hint of sarcasm.

"If the marquess gives up, he would be at the end of his life." The steward didn\'t dare to say much. He could only offer a smile. "If he fights for it and achieves the seventh realm, the world he sees will expand even more."

"At the end of his life..." Xia An sneered.

The meaning in his laughter was clear. So what?

The steward obviously didn\'t dare to comment on the love of a father and the filial duties of a son. All he could do was pretend not to hear and smile awkwardly.

While they were chatting inside, Liu Xiaoyu was listening outside and felt her heart drop.

She was naive, but she wasn\'t stupid. She could clearly understand the meaning behind Xia An\'s words.

So, the so-called ideal husband I thought I found is actually just a scoundrel with mixed feelings? Liu Xiaoyu thought.

She wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

However, she turned around and let out a cry of surprise, "Ahh..."

Unbeknownst to her, a tall and thin figure had appeared behind her. He was dressed in black clothes and showed a cold and indifferent demeanor. Additionally, he was as quiet as a ghost.

Seeing that Liu Xiaoyu had discovered him, the man in black chuckled coldly. "Hehe.

"

Without any hesitation, he raised his hand and smacked her on the forehead.

Bang!

As his palm fell, Liu Xiaoyu fainted right away. Even with her hundreds of years of cultivation as a demon, she couldn\'t fight back at all.

When Xia An heard that, he rushed out and exclaimed, "Master Lu?"

"Lord Xia..." The man in black, who was being addressed as Master Lu, spoke with a sinister tone. "I found this girl eavesdropping outside."

"How long has she been here?" Xia An asked.

"It should have been a while," Lu replied.

"Haih..." Lord Xia shook his head and sighed. "It\'s a pity. Considering her innocence and naive qualities, I wanted to try a purely romantic relationship. What a shame."

"In that case, shall I kill her?" Master Lu asked nonchalantly as he pressed down on Liu Xiaoyu\'s head with his right hand. It seemed as though he had done this many times.

"Haih... Don\'t be wasteful," Xia An said, waving his hand. "Take her to the cabin outside the city and sell her with the next batch of goods."

"Yes."

Master Lu then let go of Liu Xiaoyu and lifted her up. After a moment, he was gone.

Xia An watched Master Lu disappear into the distance.

After estimating that Master Lu had gone far enough, Xia An sneered and said, "He is such a weirdo. He\'s never interested in women, but he\'s in such a hurry to kill them."

"Hehe..." The steward must have been accustomed to Lord Xia\'s habit of talking behind people\'s backs. He could only smile and respond, "Master Lu has inherited the Heavenly Star Unusual Art of the Seven Killings Star. He might be ruthless, but as long as he remains loyal to the marquess, he is good."

"Seven Killings..."

Xia An turned around to head back into the room.

Before that, he said, "When I asked him to teach me, he would say that I am not destined to learn it. I don\'t even know what that precious legacy is all about. Hmph."

1. yaoqin is just another name for guqin. Guqin means ancient qin. They are really the same type of instrument. ☜