"Somewhere a little classier..."
Luo Yong rolled his eyes in exasperation, then chuckled and chided him, "Look at you and your cheap tastes. Do you really have to go to those places?"
Of course, Zou Feng didn’t *have* to go, but visiting brothels was the perfect cover for his movements.
"Master, but I..."
Luo Yong waved his hand, cutting him off. "Can’t hold it in, right? Master understands!"
"That’s why I talked it over with your master’s wife yesterday. We decided to arrange a marriage for you, to tide you over for now."
"A marriage?"
Zou Feng truly hadn’t expected Luo Yong to be so "thoughtful."
Those of Lowly Status could, of course, get married.
But such unions were generally limited to two people who both shared that same Lowly Status.
"Mhm. But since you haven’t reached Entering Grade yet, you’ll have to make do for now. We’ll set you up with a maid from the mansion."
"Once you officially reach Entering Grade, if you want to take a few more wives—three or four, whatever—that’ll be up to you."
"But once you’ve made it big, you’d better not let her down. After all, for her to marry you now is a true act of kindness in your time of need!"
Luo Yong really had thought it through. At Zou Feng’s age, his needs were naturally great.
After starting his martial arts training, his body grew stronger and more robust. Add to that the internal heat from the medicinal diet...
It was indeed difficult to hold back.
You couldn’t really blame the kid for running off to the brothels so often.
"...Master, your disciple is Dedicated to the Martial Dao. I really have no mind for romantic entanglements..." Zou Feng definitely wasn’t going to consider marriage right now.
He had too many secrets, and he still had a long way to go before becoming a true master of the Evil Dao.
’So why would I give myself a weakness right now for no reason?’
"You’re Dedicated to the Martial Dao?" Luo Yong shook his head and laughed. "If I didn’t know you were running off to the brothels every other day, I might actually believe you."
Zou Feng said helplessly, "Ahem, what your disciple likes is... the atmosphere of the brothels..."
"Alright, stop making excuses. You know the maid your master’s wife picked for you. It’s that Xiaocui who’s always swaying around in front of you."
Luo Yong’s use of the word "swaying" was brilliant.
It not only described how Xiaocui often found excuses to sashay back and forth in front of Zou Feng, but also pointed out another of Xiaocui’s "swaying" highlights.
"That girl, you can tell at a glance she’d be good for bearing children. She’s got a sturdy build, and her lower body is especially stable. She should be able to handle the roughhousing of a Martial Artist like you."
"..."
The next moment, as if on cue, Xiaocui appeared.
At the end of the stone-paved path, Xiaocui approached, a bamboo basket on her arm, her hips swaying with every step.
She was coming to the rear kitchen, as was her routine, to pick up the pastries made by Zou Feng’s master’s wife.
The Yang Mansion had many young ladies who ate very little during proper meals but had a fondness for all sorts of small pastries.
In the rear kitchen, Luo Yong was in charge of the hot dishes, while his wife, Mrs. Wang, was in charge of the pastries and baked goods.
So, almost every day at this time, Xiaocui would come and wait here as part of her duties.
That was why she’d had so many opportunities to interact with Zou Feng before.
However, ever since the rumor involving Yang Qianqian, Xiaocui seemed to have given up on the idea of having a fling with Zou Feng.
When they’d run into each other these past few days, she would just give a small nod and a greeting before timidly walking away.
For some reason, seeing her again now, Xiaocui’s whole demeanor was completely transformed.
The slight timidity that once lingered in her eyes had vanished without a trace.
"Brother Feng, Uncle Luo!"
While still a good distance away, Xiaocui waved and called out a greeting.
Luo Yong responded with a grin, "You’re here? Go on in. Your Aunt Wang should have today’s pastries ready."
Xiaocui nodded. As she passed in front of Zou Feng, the sway of her hips suddenly became more pronounced.
She truly lived up to the name, "swaying" right past Zou Feng’s eyes.
After Xiaocui had swayed her way into the rear kitchen, Luo Yong turned back to Zou Feng. "Still looking? She’s gone. Control yourself before your eyes pop out of your head."
"So, what do you think? Should we settle it then? I’ll just go have a word with the new Steward of the mansion. There shouldn’t be any problem."
Luo Yong thought Zou Feng had been mesmerized by Xiaocui’s swaying hips, that he was staring so intently because he’d finally woken up from being "Dedicated to the Martial Dao."
And that he’d had a sudden epiphany: a balance of work and rest was the true path.
Little did he know, the more Zou Feng looked at the present Xiaocui, the more he felt something was wrong.
This wasn’t like before, when he’d sensed that Xu Haoran was practicing a Poison Skill. This was... ’Is this even fucking Xiaocui?!’
"Master, Xiaocui has indeed blossomed into a real beauty, but that’s precisely why I can’t agree to this marriage!" Zou Feng said with a serious expression after a moment.
Luo Yong frowned, confused. "And why is that?"
’Because this isn’t the same goddamn Xiaocui as before!’
Of course, Zou Feng couldn’t tell him the truth. Doing so would only bring harm to his master’s family.
After all, if Luo Yong knew the truth, his words and actions would inevitably betray him.
As for who this "Xiaocui" really was...
That wasn’t really important. What was important was that this woman was most likely another Evil Dao accomplice brought in by the Blood-handed Butcher to target the Yang Family.
Since the previous attempt by a Poison Dao expert to poison them had failed, causing the Blood-handed Butcher’s plan to fall through...
...it was only natural that if one plan failed, he would come up with another.
Finding an expert skilled in Disguise Technique to infiltrate the Yang Mansion would make many things much more convenient.
As for why Zou Feng could see through the woman’s disguise...
First, Zou Feng had, after all, met the real Xiaocui frequently and was quite familiar with her. Second, it was because of her scent.
Perhaps because he was cultivating a Poison Skill, and had even reached Integration and Mastery with his Five Poison Skill, Zou Feng had become extremely sensitive to all kinds of smells, especially those related to poison.
He was even ninety percent certain that this was not only an Evil Dao expert skilled in Disguise Technique, but also one who was highly proficient with poisons.
She had at least seven or eight different types of poison hidden on her person...
"Master, your disciple has just realized that my willpower isn’t strong enough!"
"Just now, I was indeed finding it hard to control myself when Xiaocui ’swayed’ like that. If I really married her, I’m afraid I’d never want to get out of bed, and I’d have no desire to practice my martial arts."
"So, I appreciate your good intentions, Master, but right now, nothing is more important than achieving Martial Arts Entry as soon as possible!" Zou Feng explained in a "perfectly reasonable" manner.
Hearing Zou Feng put it that way, Luo Yong found it hard to insist.
He had indeed been a bit hasty. These things could clearly wait until after Zou Feng had reached Entering Grade.
But Luo Yong had his own selfish motives, didn’t he? He wanted to use this opportunity, before Zou Feng truly made it big, to deepen their master-disciple relationship.
After all, if he actually arranged the marriage, it would be a public display that he could make major life decisions for Zou Feng, wielding the authority of a father.
"That makes sense. It was my oversight..."
"No wonder you always go to that filthy Hengyu Building. So it’s because those past-their-prime women can satisfy your needs without any risk of you getting attached," Luo Yong said, as if a lightbulb had gone off.
"..."
’He sure has a wild imagination.’ But Zou Feng didn’t feel like explaining any further.
After that, he quickly made an excuse about needing to continue his training and hurried away.
He didn’t want to run into "Xiaocui" again.
In any case, for the time being, neither he nor Luo Yong’s family was in any real danger.
It came back to the same point: the Blood-handed Butcher’s accomplices were, and always had been, targeting the Yang Family. What did that have to do with servants like them?
Even if the plan was to massacre the entire household, the Yang Family members would be the priority, and the Household Servants and maids would only be killed afterward as an afterthought.
However, if he really felt uneasy, Zou Feng could also think of a way to tip off the masters from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall stationed here without exposing himself...